Search This Blog

Saturday, 1 February 2014

A HAND THAT GIVES

When you have a dream (a goal, an
objective) and you work on it with all honesty and sincerity while putting your
trust in God, your hard-work pays off, your dream comes true and you enjoy
success.

But how about the dreams of those
who are less-fortunate and under-privileged, and struggle everyday to survive
(just like you did)? Don’t they deserve a helping push from someone who can
feel their pain?

Shahid Khan, from Pakistan, is a
billionaire who started with nothing! At one time, this big businessman washed
dishes for $1.20 an hour. Today, his net worth is: $3.8 billion (as of Sept.
2013).

He's now one of the richest people
in the world, but when Khan came to the U.S.
from Pakistan, he worked as
a dishwasher while attending the University
of Illinois. He worked
hard and it paid off.

That’s the way of the ‘righteous’ –
the people who fear Allah and follow the ‘right’ path. The ‘right path’ is not
limited to prayers, fasting and Hajj. The right path is the ‘Deen’ – the way of
life of a Muslim and elements like prayers, fasting and Hajj make a small part
of it. The major part is called “Huqooq-al Ibaad” (rights and responsibilities
of people in a Muslim community or culture). These rights and their limits are
prescribed in a Code of Ethics called ‘The Quran’. Allah, the Almighty says:

This is the definition of “righteous”
coined by Allah. If we want to prosper
in this world and want protection from the Fire
in the Hereafter,
then we should
give as much
in charity (Sadaqah) as
possible. A hand that gives is thousand
times better than the hand that takes. There are very clear instructions to
believers that they should give in the name of Allah, for the sake of Allah and
for the love of Allah. In return, the
Almighty Allah will multiply the reward and shower His blessings upon us. In so
many different verses of the Holy Quran, the Almighty has commanded us to give,
share with others and help the needy.

Spending for
the cause of
Allah (Sadaqah) is
the best guarantee against the Hellfire. Those who are
materially rich, they are on trial by Allah. They are on a long leash in this
world. What they do with
their wealth is being observed by the Sole Provider. On the Day of Judgment
they will be questioned about this wealth. And if they don’t share it with the
needy, they are casting themselves into the Fire.
There was once a man who lived in
an Arab village. He went to see his friend. His friend was very happy to
receive the man at his place. He
entertained him well and asked about his well-being. The man told him that he
was going through hard times and he had accumulated a debt because he kept
borrowing money to survive. He had come to seek some help.
The friend asked him how much debt
he had. The man said it was 400 Dirhams. The good friend immediately gave him 400
Dirhams.
When the poor man had left, the
good friend started to cry. His wife saw that and thought that he was probably
crying that he will never get his 400 Dirhams back. So, she said to her husband:
If you were so worried about the money, you should have not given the man that
much money in the first place. The good friend replied: I am not crying for 400 Dirhams. I am crying
because this poor man had been my long-time friend and still I was unaware of
his situation. Why did it come to that point that he had to ask me for help? As
a friend, I should have known.Now, that is a friend! I wonder how many of us have
gotten such a friend.Islam is a
religion of community.In a Muslim
society everybody is responsible for the wellbeing of their neighbors. And
everybody is supposed to contributetowardsthewelfareofthecommunity – materially or otherwise. It is a
great social system that takes care of the less fortunate and, at the same
time, brings harmony to the society.
In a culture like that, the residents of a neighborhood are
supposed to know who is poor or needy in their street. Once they know it, they
are obligated to help the poor. It is their responsibility, apart from the
responsibility of the rulers or administrators of the area, to make sure that
these poor people don’t sleep hungry.
These are the people who fear Allah, who seek His pleasure and serve the mankind. They are declared ‘successful’
by Allah. They care and share. They understand that everything comes from Allah
and He wants people to take care of each other.

If we find hungry, needy and poor homeless people around us,
that means the rulers or administrators and the people of the area are not
doing their job honestly or correctly. There must be something wrong with the
system. It should be changed and the
people responsible for the malfunction should be taken to task. Public money
must be spent on public and for public, simple as that! Anything else is corruption.
Now is the age of materialism. We try to make life as easy,
luxurious and comfortable as possible. We try to get more than our neighbors
and the race never ends. The saints say that money is evil (‘fitnah’). It is
never enough. We always want more. And in this process we forget Allah. We
forget that it is HE Who blesses us with all comforts. But we turn to
Him only when we don’t get what we strive for.

The Almighty Allah has given some people more than the
others and in that lies a test for them. If the neighbors do what Allah has
told them in the Holy Quran to do, we won’t need to look up to the government for
the welfare of any of our neighborhoods. When we share Allah’s bounties with
others, it promotes love and sympathy among us. It does not diminish our
wealth. On the contrary, Allah grants us ten times the reward here in this
world and seventy times (or more) in the Hereafter. We need to have strong
faith.

Once Ali ibn Abi Talib (r.a.a.) was sitting at his door and
crying with tears. Somebody asked for
the reason of his crying. Ali (r.a.a.) said: “It has been seven days that no
guest showed up at my place. I am afraid that Merciful Allah might be angry
with me and might have decided to reprimand me.” In a Muslim culture, a guest is always
considered as an envoy of the Almighty Allah who brings His blessings.
Therefore, everybody tries to entertain the guest with the best possible meal.
The money spent on this occasion is considered as money spent to please Allah.
According to the teachings of Prophet Muhammad
(s.a.w.), entertaining a guest is ‘sadaqah’
(charity) that brings rewards in the Hereafter.
According to another Hadith (saying of the Prophet, s.a.w.) narrated
by Kaab bin Ayadh, Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) said:

"There was a 'fitnah' (evil) for every nation,

and for my Ummah (Muslim nation),

this 'fitnah' is 'maal' (wealth)."

The nations of all prophets had been tried with some kind of
temptation or ‘fitnah’. We, as Muslims, are being tried with wealth and
material. If we get carried away by it, we will end up as ‘losers’. And we would be losers not only here in this
world but also in the Hereafter. Hellfire is the destination of all such
losers. This wealth here is to spend in this world. We cannot carry it with us to
the next world. The only thing that goes with us to the next world is ‘good
deed’. And helping others is the best deed.

ٱلْمَالُ
وَٱلْبَنُونَ زِينَةُ ٱلْحَيَاةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا وَٱلْبَاقِيَاتُ

ٱلصَّالِحَاتُ خَيْرٌ
عِندَ رَبِّكَ ثَوَاباً وَخَيْرٌ أَمَلاً

“Wealth and children
are an ornament of life

of the world. But the
good deeds which endure,

are better in your
Lord’s sight for reward,

and better in respect
of hope.”

(al-Quran 18:46)

Money (wealth) is the biggest trial for mankind. We love it
and don’t want to part with it. We don’t easily share it with others either. In
the back of our minds, there is a small fear of losing it. We forget that it is
Allah Who gives it to us and He can take it away in a blink. It is not
difficult for Allah to shuffle things up.

Wealth should not become a distraction. The true servants of
Allah always remember Him and when they have a little wealth, they remember
Allah even more. They know that they have to share this wealth with the needy.
The wife of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) and mother of the
believers, Aayesha (r.a.a.) was known for her generosity. She would not
hesitate to give anything in the house to the needy. Mankadar (r.a.a.) was a
lesser known companion of the Prophet (s.a.w.), but was a pious man. Once he
came to see the wife of the Prophet, Aayesha (r.a.a.), and told her that he
desperately needed some help. She
regretted that at that particular time there was nothing in the house. She told
him that if she had even ten thousand Dirhams, she would have given it to him.
Mankadar left disappointed.
Later that day, Khalid bin Asad sent a gift of ten
thousand Dirhams to the House of the
Prophet (s.a.w.). Aayesha (r.a.a.) said that she was being tested (by Allah) immediately
about what she said to Mankadar. She sent a messenger to call upon him. When
Mankadar came to her house, she gave him the entire amount of ten thousand
Dirhams. From this amount Mankadar bought a maid for one thousand Dirhams and
married her. He had three sons from her, whom he named Muhammad, Abubakr and
Umar. All three of them were among the well-known righteous people of Madinah.

Aayesha (r.a.a.) was known for her modest living and great
deeds of charity. That was the training and teaching of Prophet Muhammad
(s.a.w.). There are many stories of her generosity in the history books.
During those early days of Islam, the rich Muslims traders
used to send gifts and bags of money to the house of the Prophet (s.a.w.). Once Aayesha (r.a.a.) distributed two bags
of money among the needy and did not even remember that there was no meat in
the house. She was fasting and could have used one Dirham worth of meat for her
and the Prophet’s meal. One should not forget that meat was considered a luxury
in that house.
The Prophet (s.a.w.) and his wives never kept money in the
house. Whenever it was given to them, no matter how much, it was given away or
distributed among the needy of the area immediately. Money is evil (‘fitnah’)
and it is very easy to fall in love with it. The more you have, the more you
will be questioned about it on the Day of Judgment.
The worst thing that wealth brings is the greed that results
in corruption. It is never enough. We
always want more. Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) said that if somebody had one
valley of wealth (‘maal’), he would try to get another one. And if he had two
valleys of wealth, still it won’t be enough for him and he would strive for the
third one. The only thing that can fill up his belly (greed) is the dust of
grave.
In other words we keep striving for wealth until death comes
to us and we leave everything behind. We have seen it in real life that someone
starts a small business or a small shop. He always tries to improve it and
makes his shop bigger and bigger. Then he tries to make two shops out of the
original one, and so on. There is no end to it.
Greed has no limits. It creates different kinds of material
and moral problems. The worst problem among them is that we forget Allah. Since
wealth is evil, it has Devil’s full support. And when we follow the footsteps
of Devil (‘Shaitan’), we are marching towards Hell. Allah says:

Greed is like a disease. The only
cure – the best cure – is the charity. We should give away whatever is surplus
or extra from our needs. We can start with helping our poor relatives, the less
fortunate family members. They say that charity begins at home. The less
fortunate have a right to our wealth. It is the law of the Almighty Allah. We
dare not violate it otherwise we face heavy punishment.

We need to tell ourselves that by
sharing or giving in charity, we don’t deplete our wealth. It rather multiplies.
Allah has been merciful to us and we should show mercy to the mankind in
return. This is one way of thanking Him and appreciating His blessings He
showered upon us.

Here is another story of generosity
and charity (‘sadaqah’) from the golden period of Islam:

Abdullah bin Aamer bin Kreedh (r.a.a.)
wanted to buy a house. He saw one that he liked and contacted the owner Khalid
bin Aqaba (r.a.a.). The price was settled for 90 thousand Dirhams. When the
house was sold and Khalid (r.a.a.) told his family that they had to move out.
His wife and children were shocked. They felt hurt and sad, and started crying.

When the night fell, Abdullah (r.a.a.)
heard the crying voices of women and children. He asked his wife to enquire
about it. She told him that it was the family of Khalid bin Aqaba (r.a.a.).
They were grieved at the loss of their house. Abdullah bin Aamer (r.a.a.) immediately
sent his servant to Khalid (r.a.a.)’s house with a message that the sale-deal
was cancelled. The house was theirs and they could also keep the money he paid
for the house. The house had been given back to them as a gift from Abdullah
bin Aamer (r.a.a.). Allah-o-Akbar!

Those were the people with heart,
who feared Allah and always wanted to please the Almighty with their noble
gestures. No wonder they were blessed by Allah not only in this world but also
in the Hereafter. Allah says in the Holy Quran:

2 comments:

I positively having fun with each little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to take a look at new stuff you blog post….Islamic Bookstore If you are looking for a great collection of Islamic books then this Islamic bookstore can accomplish your goal.

I positively having fun with each little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to take a look at new stuff you blog post….Islamic Bookstore If you are looking for a great collection of Islamic books then this Islamic bookstore can accomplish your goal.

QURAN RECITATION

Al-Quran

The Guiding Light

WELCOME HOME

Assalaam-o-alaikum!

We are glad to see you here. We can accompany you home. By joining us, you'll, Insha-Allah, prepare yourself mentally and spiritually for your onward journey on the road less traveled. We are heading for Home - the promised Home. Allah says:

M. Javed Naseem

M. Javed Naseem (Jay Max) is a well-known journalist and broadcaster from Lahore (Pakistan). He is the author of six books. He has worked as a reporter and then sub-editor for daily Nawa-i-Waqt, Lahore; as sub-editor with the Pakistan Times, Lahore; and as editor of the weekly Community News, New York, NY, among others.He was an international broadcaster for radio Deutsche Welle (The Voice of Germany), Cologne, Germany; news editor and newscaster for Third World Broadcasting TV in New York; was producer & director of ‘Mabuhay’, an English language TV show for the Filipino community in New York. He had been an announcer at Radio Pakistan, Lahore; and Punjabi newscaster for Pakistan Television, Lahore. Before entering the field of professional journalism, he was a Lecturer/Instructor at the Govt. Commercial Training Institute, Lahore. He knows English, French, German, Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi, Persian and some Arabic. He writes for Islamic websites. He is a Pakistani-American and now lives in retirement in Morocco, North Africa.Publications: The Way (Sunnah) of The Prophet (s.a.w.); God's Prescription - Al-Quran; A Wake-up Call; You Are Special; Stories of Prophets.